Page 14 of Madness & Mayhem
I grind my teeth as I make my way up the steps and head inside. Shutting the door, I wince when I hear it.
The sobs.
The gut-wrenching, painful sobs that echo through the house.
My brow furrows, and I glance over at Posie, who stares at me blankly. “She’s been crying all night. Hasn’t stopped once. We haven’t slept at all, Lakyn.”
I swallow, my jaw clenching as I stare up the stairs. “Maybe I should go talk to her.”
She shakes her head. “Not a good idea. She doesn’t want to talk to anyone. Eloise has barely been able to talk to her.”
I nod, my nose burning as I toe off my shoes and head toward the kitchen.
Posie is silent as she follows behind me, not saying a word. I walk to the coffee maker, making myself a cup. I keep my eyes averted, though I can feel Posie’s heavy gaze on me as I pour my cup.
My eyes raise, and I find her already staring at me.
“What?” I whisper.
She blinks. “How long have you known Reign was the masked man?”
I frown, shaking my head. “I didn’t know. Not at all. Not until last night.”
She doesn’t look convinced. “And you have been sleeping with him? The masked man?”
I bite my lip. How the hell would she know?
She rolls her eyes. “I spoke to Archer and Kyler. They told me it’s Reign.” Her eyes drop to my thighs. “It doesn’t take a genius to know what’s been going on.”
Shame hits me, and I can feel the heat creep up my skin, coloring my neck and cheeks. I don’t know what to say, so I say nothing at all.
How did I not know the love of my life was the masked man? Have I been that oblivious?
“We’ve been scared of him, and you’ve been fucking him, Lakyn?” she asks quietly, though there’s an edge to her voice that has my body stiffening.
Her face twists, anger growing ever so slowly. “We had to throw a body into the ocean because he brought oneinto our house.” She takes a deep breath, exhaling heavily through her nose. “Hekilledyour father, Lakyn,” she growls.
My body tenses, and I grow cold, as if my body is being submerged, limb by limb, into the frigid ocean water.
Posie narrows her eyes at me. “We’re supposed to be best friends, Lakyn,” she whispers.
I step forward, ready to grab her, though she steps back, out of my reach.
“We are best friends, Posie. We’ve always been best friends. That’s not going to change.”
She huffs, shaking her head. “There’s nothing you can say. This is some fucked-up shit.” Her eyes drift toward the ceiling when Vienna lets out another gut-wrenching cry. “Your secrets ended with Creed dead, and your best friend mourning the love of her life.”
I move around the corner, and Posie steps in my way, blocking my path. “No. There isn’t anything you can say that’ll make anything better. Stay away from Vienna, I’m serious.”
My brows dip, and my lips pop open, hurt and a slight edge of irritation bubbles in my chest. I don’t know whether to cry or scream.
They don’t understand. None of them do.
I never wanted this.
I didn’t search for the masked man. He sought me out. He stalked me. He kept me as his prey, and I couldn’t fight it.
Because I’ve never been able to.